Terminating an employee is not thought to include the IT department. However, this article points out the relevance the IT department has in the process. The HRIS is efficient for the HR department to collect data on all employees. And the IT department is responsible for taking the employee off the HRIS and stop data collection. They are also responsible for ceasing access from the terminated employee to any company related information. The author suggests that the company dismiss any online access to the employee to prevent theft, hacking or any other harm to the company. The IT department must also make sure the employees private information stored in the system must be preserved. If not taken care of considerately, there is a possibility for a legal issue to arise. This is why the IT department, amongst the HR department and executive staff, should be included in the termination of employees.

Operators of restaurants are excited about new wait-list management software. The software allows for restaurants to use tablets technology to create a more efficient wait-list, in-turn improving restaurant operations. The employee enters the name, party size, and any other important information. Then the software prioritizes the seating by the amount of time a party has been waiting. The program also generates estimate wait times and has the capability to notify the guest when their table is available. The software goes as far as allowing for the guest to text back how long it might take them to return to the restaurant, if wondering off-site, or for them to cancel the reservation allowing other wait-lister's to be seated. Many establishments such as Red Robin, Texas Roadhouse, and Yard House now use this wait-list management software. They report that the software improves wait times by almost half. It allows for auto calls and text to communicate with guests on the wait-list. It also improve ticket flow to the kitchen all of these combine reducing the wait times. All in all the software has improved restaurant operations for these establishments utilizing the wait-list management software.

Restaurants use e marketing for a better market mix for their establishment. Today, it is very difficult to have a restaurant and not have a Facebook, twitter account, or even instagram. There are other e-marketing tools that have proven to be useful and boost business. One example this article focuses on is the use of websites more specifically, LivingSocial. They took research gathered from LivingSocial and analyzed the marketing practice. It shows how people respond to online and offline marketing tools/concepts. This allows for restaurant establishments to utilize this information. Enables focus to be on the best marketing tool for their business, rather than try to operate every outlet of e marketing.

Today technology is used for practically everything. Technology runs hand-in-hand with planning events, but technology can also be utilized during the event. This article shares how to use the presence of technology to keep the audience captivated by the speaker. One of the main things the speaker should do is stop with the handouts. Switching to PDF forms or online access allows for the speaker to be assured the papers will not be lost or misplaced by the attendees. Technology also is beneficial to the interaction with the speaker. The article advocates keeping the audiences attention by using an audience response system. This allows them to input answers and be interactive. There are also a few website based companies that allow you to do this through your smartphone. They also suggest using twitter with hashtags to ask questions to the speaker. The event uses specific hashtags for audience participation. To go even further they recommend to text the speaker with any question and can get an immediate response. The use of technology enables the speaker to utilize every possible tool to get the audience to pay attention and to retain the material. It makes sure no vital information or opportunities have gone without an explanation.

A restaurant investing in security measures is critical to the operation. This article points out the benefits of a foodservice establishment integrating Internet Protocol (IP) surveillance cameras with POS systems. This allows for owners and managers to be able to check real-time video against their POS, prevents employee theft. The National Restaurant Association stated "Employee theft accounts for nearly 75 percent of restaurant industry losses, or approximately 4 percent of annual sales" a real concern to the food segment industry. Another issue in the industry that security surveillance can assists in is issuance claims and liabilities, "57 percent of all foodservice general liability insurance claims are slip-and-fall incidents". In the case of a fraudulent claim, the security or IP surveillance cameras will be a great value. Yes the surveillance catches the bad things, but it also benefits the ROI. Managers are able to see and hear employee and customer interaction. This allows for training to be allotted when necessary or praise for a great efforts. A manager that is able to address issues on spot decreases the margin of error and keeps productivity and decorum high.

Valued investors are seeking a sense of opportunity in the stock market and have found it in investing in technology firms. Many of the major and most famous names in technology are becoming a valued investment to big shot investors. The article relates back to 1999 and the 2000's, technology firms were not considered a valued investment. Today companies like Google, Cisco Systems, and Apple are yielding high profits, paying dividends, and have strong balance sheets. The author also points out the faults in investing in the wrong technology company. Examples like the Palm Pilots, Motorola Razor, and now Blackberry that are all obsolete or close to it.

Every restaurant manager is highly concerned about guest satisfaction. This article touches on how accounting systems are theoretically used to increase customer satisfaction in the restaurant. The article first points out to focus on the 'four parts of the meal'; these are the food quality, culinary experience, the service experience, and the aesthetic experience. They take these four dimensions and create and accounting system around their expectations which was inspired by activity-based costing. Meaning they value the customer experience more than the cost of making the product. The metaphor the article uses to simplify this theory, "A pinch of salt costs nothing, but may make a large contribution to the experienced value of a bowl of lobster soup". Another important input that an accounting system has is being able to monitor customer expectations and assessment of the meal. This is a great tool for managers to be able to keep track of customer data.

A local restaurant in LaSalle Illinois, Uptown Grill, has turned their full menu into an e-menu, or electronic menu. All customers are to use an android-based tablet in replacement of the traditional paper menu along with their entire wine menu. The e-menu is simple to use. There are two apps available to the customer one of the apps it the restaurants menu. The other renders the tablet useless if a patron were to walk out of the restaurant with, their way of decreasing the thought of theft of their new tablets. The e-menu allows for guest to find out more information for any food item on the menu, all they have to do is tap the image. It pulls up with a full description of the item along with another option, wine pairing. Their menu comes equipped with a wine paring, or suggestion, for each dish. They sell, "hundreds of different wines", and this is a great way to help guests who are inexperienced with wine. For those patrons that have not adopted the e-menu, Uptown Grill provides their paper menus.

Property management systems are important in a hotel. They enable to establishment to store information to personalize a guest experience, but they also assist the back-end with point-of-sale, accounts, payroll, restaurant module, ect. The headache is deciding which system is best for your operations. This article list a few helpful questions in order to sort out what system your establishment needs. The first question the article is, "How many modules will your new hotel software offer?". The reason why the author points this out as being important is because some softwares just come with the Front office module. Meaning you will need to invest in another system to accommodate the back-end of the hotel. Then he goes into ask, "Does your new property management system have third party products merged into it?". Some software vendors require smaller companies to merge products to make up their PMS. This can lead to a hassle for the staff and means you could spend long hours needing to interact with multiple vendors rather than just one. Another question the author posses is, "Is your hotel software compatible with third party software?". This question is to double check that the software you plan to integrate is compatible with third party hardware and software. A couple examples are credit card payment gateway and the door locking system. These are all useful questions that a manager can look to in order to help them pick a system.

If you are looking to expand your horizons on eco-tourism, visiting a Dude Ranch may be a good idea for vacation. According to this article, Dude Ranches are the leader in eco-friendly tourism. Visiting the ranch is a great way to get close to the environment and learn about sustainability first hand. The article suggest that while visiting on vacation the most obvious eco-friendly item will be the food. Dude Ranch communities live off the land around them. They are very aware not to put chemicals into their land; it may "contaminate the water table" as well as their livestock. Separation of waste and recycling is part of the sustainability in a Dude Ranch. They want to reuse their natural resources, food waste is used as fertilizer. If visiting on vacation, you will see sustainability at its finest. Ranches supply the local community as well. Many Ranches try to be "as self-sufficient as possible", only using what they need keep the ranch running. This allows them to supply the community as well as local retailers with free-ranged beef as well as free-ranged eggs. Some ranches even make and sell their own specialty items, bread or wine. A few Dude Ranches have allowed Universities to use their land to expose students to re-life sustainability issues. The ranch shows them what sustainability looks like in practice and how it benefits the environment around them. This allows them to educate students visiting the ranch, and it allows for the eco-tourist to stay to learn more about sustainability and the environment.

Sabre and American Express has teamed up for a new service "to provide a more personal travel experience" to their clients. Now American Express Global Business Traveler clients who book through TripCase, Sabre's mobile app, are allowed to access real-time data. Clients can receive flight updates and live synching of itinerary from Amex to their TripCase app. Cardmember's also receive information through the app about card benefits and deals, one example the article gave was airport lounge access and free Wi-Fi access. Amex has gone as far as making sure cardmember's are automatically updated whether they book their business trips online or over the phone, making it easier for last minute changes to be accommodated.

Hotels are starting to find new ways to use social networking to enhance customer satisfaction. One hotel, The Pod Hotel in New York, has found a way to increase guests' experiences while increasing revenue centers. By creating the 'Pod Culture' guests' are able to share their experiences in a forum that is available only to others throughout the hotel. At the time of check-in, one will receive an account name and login information. Within the privacy of the forum customers are able to comment and suggest attractions, shops, and restaurants in the hotel and locally in the community. "A study featured in Forbes cited that '81% of US respondents indicated posts from their friends directly influence their purchase decisions'". In this case, the other hotel guests' are the "friends" influencing others to upgrade their experience. The forum at The Pod Hotel inspires more transactions in the hotel and increased customer services. Other hotels may find this beneficial and include similar networking amenities.

This article summarizes a webinar sponsored and moderated by The Wall Street Journal that addresses the 10 key hospitality technology trends. One trend pointed out was hotel guests are traveling with an increasing number of technological items. "A SmartBreif poll showed that 45% of hotel guest travel with two devices and 40% with three or more". Hotels are accommodating this trend with free-wifi but also with guest room design assuring capabilities for their computers, tablets, and phones. A property in New York, Eventi a Kimpton property, has gone as far to install a "business bar" for those that forgot their tablet or just in need to entertain their kids. More-so technology is being used for signage, digital signage can be found in many lobbies showing off twitter messages and amenities guest can view while standing in line. A showy new trend is having interacting hub in the lobby for guest to be able to check the weather, look up restaurants in the area, find attractions, etc. with no need to wait in line to ask the concierge or front desk attendant. Marriott has a new concept which is a "Workspace on Demand" with services that allows for small-businesses to hold conferences in their space. They can lease the space for a half-day or the full-day. Allowing them to utilize their wifi, a large space, and includes use of audio and visual equipment without having to book rooms at the hotel. Needless to say this has been a huge success for Marriott with 120 bookings in the first 90 days.